Attack on Curbelo about Obamacare faces Truth-O-Meter

Republicans have a shot at winning back one South Florida congressional district: the seat held by U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Miami, who ousted scandal-plagued GOPer David Rivera in 2012.

Miami-Dade school board member Carlos Curbelo is the frontrunner in fundraising and establishment endorsements in a crowded GOP primary set for Aug. 26, 2014. That makes him the target of some of his opponents, including Ed MacDougall, the mayor of Cutler Bay.

MacDougall portrays Curbelo as a Democrat -- a serious charge in a GOP primary (though overall the Miami-Dade/Monroe district now leans to the left.)

In both a flier and a radio ad in Spanish, MacDougall portrays Curbelo as a defender of the Affordable Care Act, the law pushed by Democrats and President Barack Obama.

On radio the narrator says, "Se opone a la apelación de Obamacare." (Our translation is "he opposes the appeal of Obamacare" but the ad is trying to refer to the "repeal" of Obamacare.)

MacDougall is trying to get the votes of Republicans who support repeal. When we contacted MacDougall’s campaign, we received this response about his position: "Obamacare must be repealed, with no strings attached."

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the House of Representatives, controlled by Republicans, has voted more than 50 times to repeal Obamacare as a symbolic protest to the legislation. The Democratic-led Senate has refused to vote on the House bill.

We decided to fact-check if Curbelo opposes the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.